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Sub. H. B. No. 29 As Reported by the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee

To amend sections 1547.05, 1547.52, and 1547.521 of
the Revised Code to exempt persons holding certain
Coast Guard endorsements from the requirement to
complete a safe boater course or examination and
to establish conditions for watercraft safety
inspections.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

Section 1. That sections 1547.05, 1547.52, and 1547.521 of
the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:

Sec. 1547.05. No(A) Except as provided in division (B) of
this section, no person born on or after January 1, 1982, shall
operate on the waters in this state a powercraft powered by more
than ten horsepower, unless the operator successfully has
completed either a safe boater course approved by the national
association of state boating law administrators or a proctored or
nonproctored proficiency examination that tests knowledge of
information included in the curriculum of such a course, and has
received a certificate as evidence of successful completion of the
course or examination.

(B) Division (A) of this section does not apply to an
individual who possesses valid merchant mariner credentials issued
by the United States coast guard in accordance with 46 C.F.R.
10.109 with at least one endorsement of master or operator as
defined in 46 C.F.R. 10.107. Such an individual, while operating
any recreational vessel on the waters in this state, shall carry
onboard documentation of the merchant mariner credentials and
required endorsements and shall present the documentation to a
watercraft officer or law enforcement officer upon request.

(C) No person shall permit a powercraft to be operated on the
waters in this state in violation of division (A) of this section.

Sec. 1547.52. (A) The division of watercraft shall be
administered by the chief of the division of watercraft. The chief
may adopt, amend, and rescind:

(1) Rules considered necessary by the chief to supplement the
identification, operation, titling, use, registration, and
numbering of watercraft or vessels as provided in this chapter and
Chapter 1548. of the Revised Code;

(2) Rules governing the navigation of vessels on waters in
this state, including, but not limited to, rules regarding
steering and sailing, the conduct of vessels in sight of one
another or in restricted visibility, lights and shapes of lights
used on vessels, and sound and light signals. As the chief
considers necessary, these navigational rules shall be consistent
with and equivalent to the regulations and interpretive rulings
governing inland waters adopted or issued under the "Inland
Navigational Rules Act of 1980," 94 Stat. 3415, 33 U.S.C.A. 151,
1604, 1605, 1608, 2001 to 2008, and 2071 to 2073.

(3) Rules governing the use, visitation, protection, and
administration of wild river areas, scenic river areas, and
recreational river areas;

(b) Law enforcement services provided at special events when
the services are in addition to normal enforcement duties;

(c) Inspections of vessels or motors conducted under this
chapter or Chapter 1548. of the Revised Code;

(d) The conducting of stream impact reviews of any planned or
proposed construction, modification, renovation, or development
project that may potentially impact a watercourse within a
designated wild, scenic, or recreational river area.

All rules adopted by the chief under division (A) of this
section shall be adopted in accordance with Chapter 119. of the
Revised Code and are subject to the prior approval of the director
of natural resources.

(B) The chief, with the approval of the director, may employ
such clerical and technical help as the chief considers necessary.

(C) The chief may designate license agents with the approval
of the director.

(D) The division is hereby designated as the agency to
administer the Ohio boating safety program and allocated federal
funds under, and the chief shall prepare and submit reports in
such form as may be required by, the "Federal Boat Safety Act of
1971," 85 Stat. 222, 46 U.S.C.A. 1475(a)(6), as amended.

Sec. 1547.521. (A) The law enforcement officers of the
division of watercraft shall be known as "state watercraft
officers." The chief of the division of watercraft and state
watercraft officers:

(1) Shall develop and conduct educational programs in vessel
safety, sanitation, and operation and in other related subjects
that the chief considers appropriate or necessary;

(2) Shall enforce this chapter and Chapter 1548. of the
Revised Code and rules adopted under them, and may enforce laws
prohibiting the dumping of refuse, trash, or litter into the
waters in this state and Chapters 2925. and 3719. of the Revised
Code on all waters in the state;

(3) On any lands owned, controlled, maintained, or
administered by the department of natural resources and on any
waters in this state, shall have the authority specified under
section 2935.03 of the Revised Code for peace officers of the
department of natural resources to keep the peace, to enforce all
laws and rules governing those lands and waters, and to make
arrests for violation of those laws and rules, provided that the
authority shall be exercised on lands or waters administered by
another division of the department only pursuant to an agreement
with the chief of that division or to a request for assistance by
an enforcement officer of that division in an emergency. The
jurisdiction of state watercraft officers shall be concurrent with
that of the peace officers of the county, township, or municipal
corporation in which the violation occurs.

(4) For the purpose of enforcing the laws and rules that they
have the authority to enforce, may stop, board, and conduct a
safety inspection of any vessel;

(5) May serve and execute any citation, summons, warrant, or
other process issued with respect to any law that they have the
authority to enforce.

(B)(1) Except as authorized by division (B)(2) of this
section, no state watercraft officer or other law enforcement
officer as described in section 1547.63 of the Revised Code shall
stop or board any vessel solely for the purpose of conducting a
safety inspection of the vessel unless the owner or operator
voluntarily requests the watercraft officer or other law
enforcement officer to conduct a safety inspection of the vessel.

(2) A state watercraft officer or other law enforcement
officer as described in section 1547.63 of the Revised Code may
stop, board, and conduct a safety inspection of any vessel for the
purpose of enforcing the laws and rules that the officer has the
authority to enforce under this chapter, if either of the
following applies:

(a) The watercraft officer or law enforcement officer
authorized under section 1547.63 of the Revised Code has a
reasonable suspicion that the vessel, the vessel's equipment, or
the vessel's operator is in violation of this chapter or rules
adopted under it or is otherwise engaged in a violation of a law
of this state or a local ordinance, resolution, rule, or
regulation adopted in compliance with the provisions of this
chapter within the territorial jurisdiction of the officer;

(b) The watercraft officer or law enforcement officer
authorized under section 1547.63 of the Revised Code is conducting
a vessel safety inspection in the course of an authorized
checkpoint operation in accordance with rules adopted by the chief
of the division of watercraft under section 1547.52 of the Revised
Code.

(C) A state watercraft officer may render assistance to a
state or local law enforcement officer at the request of that
officer or may render assistance to a state or local law
enforcement officer in the event of an emergency.

State watercraft officers serving outside the division of
watercraft under this section or serving under the terms of a
mutual aid compact authorized under section 1501.02 of the Revised
Code shall be considered as performing services within their
regular employment for the purposes of compensation, pension or
indemnity fund rights, workers' compensation, and other rights or
benefits to which they may be entitled as incidents of their
regular employment.

State watercraft officers serving outside the division of
watercraft under this section or under a mutual aid compact retain
personal immunity from civil liability as specified in section
9.86 of the Revised Code and shall not be considered an employee
of a political subdivision for purposes of Chapter 2744. of the
Revised Code. A political subdivision that uses state watercraft
officers under this section or under the terms of a mutual aid
compact authorized under section 1501.02 of the Revised Code is
not subject to civil liability under Chapter 2744. of the Revised
Code as the result of any action or omission of any state
watercraft officer acting under this section or under a mutual aid
compact.

Section 2. That existing sections 1547.05, 1547.52, and
1547.521 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.